A gift from Whiskers......

Well,....my morning started out pretty adventurously. I was getting my husbands lunch ready and noticed the cat sniffing frantically in the corner, near our front door. She had done this a few weeks ago and when I had gone to investigate what was going on (I figured a moth or some kind of bug...) I lifted my purse off the floor and nearly had a heart attack. There, running around like crazy was a small field mouse (to their benefit....they are kinda cute). I ended up yelling bloody murder: There's a mouse, there's a mouse, there's a mouse etc........(I believe I did this for 3-4 minutes). My kids got up, and jumped up on our coffee table and watched as the mouse disappreared. Husband was not successful in capturing it.

this is the first mouse we've seen here is 2 years. We had hauled wood in for our wood stove back then and ended up with quite a few family members of the "field mouse family".

Anyways, back to this morning: I went to look to see what was going on (forgot about the last mouse episode). Did not see anything, went back to the kitchen and decided to take one more look because Whiskers was going crazy by then. I walked towards the door and nearly stepped on "the mouse". I did my scream once again (sorry...no matter how many times my husband says "Do you have to scream???", I just can't get past it. I scream). The mouse was laying on it's side near my shoe (the one I had to wear today!). My husband came running and when he went to pick it up, it took off again. It was playing dead! Had I bent down to pick it up (wouldn't ever happen anyways....) I would have been the one laying on the floor. Can you imagine thinking a creature is dead, going to pick it up and having it jump up and run?????? Anyways....long story short (or is it too late for that??? LOL), my husband did end up catching it (My Hero!!!). The mouse was removed from the house. I did not ask what happened to it, nor do I care at this point.

Thing is: Do cats really have to feel like bringing their "gifts" to us is truly something we look forward to? I keep telling Whiskers that I am a "Flowers, diamonds and chocolate" girl. She still has not caught onto that yet!

All of this makes me wonder: Where did this mouse hide out since the last episode when she nearly got caught??????

:LOL: Sounds like you had quite an ordeal there!! Merlin brought me in a mouse from the back porch just yesterday...luckily it was dead!!! I think they want us to know thjey are earning their keep! :laughing:

G.,

That's a great story! Thanks for sharing it.

Bill

Debby, it was a very interesting ordeal..... I'm actually walking around looking for my next "gift"!

Bill, nice hearing from you, I don't believe we've met before!!! And, BTW: Congrats on attaining the "Alpha" status!!!!! (I think that's the 300 mark right?????)

All my cats have been indoors only, so I haven't had to worry about receiving any "gifts". My neighbors used to have a Siamese named D.C. One day D.C. was at their back door waiting to be let in, and he had what looked like a dead mouse in his mouth. They let D.C. in and as soon as he put the mouse down on the floor, it jumped up and ran away. The cat couldn't catch the mouse again, and the neighbors finally had to catch it in a trap. You aren't the only one these things happen to!

Squirt brought me a baby bird once. It was kind of sad. Both of mine bring lizards they catch on the porch all the time. Most of the time they aren't dead, so then it is a chase around the house to catch them. They say that it is one of the ultimate compliments a cat can pay you to bring you a gift of his hunt.

This happened a few months ago, but I was sitting at the computer when out of the corner of my eye I saw something streak from the doorway of the kitchen and scoot under the computer. I have keen hearing and I could hear the squeaks, so I swung around half expecting 5-6 ferals in hot pursuit of this newest house guest. Nope, not a whisker or tail in sight. By this time, I had my feet elevated up on the lower shelf and off the floor, and I didn't scream but I did do my kitty call and Shredder was the first one to arrive.

I pointed down to the floor and told him that there was a mouse under the computer, and he just yawned, asked for a scratch and jumped in my lap to have a snooze. Next to arrive was Stryker, one of my fiercest mouse hunters, but he too had no inkling what I was trying to convey, and ended up hopping into the sock hamper for a nap of his own.

I stood up and unceremoniously dumped an indignant Shredder on to the floor and grabbing a flashlight, I got carefully down on my stomach to peer underneath the computer deck. Now, there is maybe room for a pencil or two to roll under there, but I never thought a mouse could hide there successfully. However, when I peered underneath, I saw nothing. The shelving is all bolted down as the cats like to climb down from the cat rails and sit on the top shelf, so moving the computer desk was not a possibility. I figured with all the cats that came in and out during the day, one of them would find this intruder and flush it out into the open.

The mouse lived in the front room for a week before either of us saw it again. Somehow, it managed to stay away from the hunters in my group and when I did finally manage to scoop it up in Mike's old boot, I carried the boot out to the woodpile and let the mouse go in peace. As far as I know, it is still out there burrowed down into all that kindling.

I wonder what that says about what my cats think of me? They are inside only, so their big hunting adventures consist of bugs and moths. When they do manage to get one, they never bring it to me. Maybe it's just how infrequent they actually get to hunt.

Heidi,
Whiskers eats the flies and moths. She actually looks like it's quite a feast fest when this happens and has never presented any of these as gifts to me either.
Even though she is an indoor cat only, we have been unfortunate to sometimes have outdoor visitors venture in and she gladly shares these!

Hissy, you are an angel! To lovingly catch the mouse and release it into the great outdoors unharmed is a genuine act of kindness. I guess I've failed in that department because I would never even attempt to get near a mouse (unwillingly), let alone carry it outside and watch it disappear. I'd always wonder if it would remember how to get back into my house!!!

What hilarious stories!

When I was about four, we were living on a farm near Vancouver B.C., and I had my very own big black cat called Satan. One day I called excitedly to my mother that there was a bunny rabbit on the kitchen counter. Mom came in to see what I was talking about and suddenly grabbed me and hauled me up on the table... the thing on the counter was definitely not a rabbit. It was a huge wharf rat.

Mom called Satan who sauntered in. He saw the rat and casually sat down and started washing himself. By this time my mother was beyond freaked... I learned a lot of new words that day. It wasn't until the rat started eating Satan's food that he decided it was worth killing.